android@texas.net (Andy Combs)
Makoto watched quietly as the teacher prepared to introduce the new
student. She wondered idly if this newcomer would add credence to her
own pet theory.
Ami had already dismissed the theory. She insisted that the laws of
averages made Makoto's theory simply impossible. But Makoto still clung
to the theory, though she didn't bother her fellow Senshi with it.
"Good Morning, class." said the teacher. "Today we have a new student,
just transferred from Canada. I want you to all welcome Laura Bergstrom
to our class." The class greeted her in unison.
Laura Bergstrom. Makoto sighed. Which would it be this time? Friend
or foe? Ally or enemy?
As far as Makoto could tell, whenever a new enemy and a new classmate
appeared at about the same time, there was always a connection.
Sometimes, like Ail and Ann, the classmate was the enemy. Other times,
like the Starlights, the classmate turned out to be an ally. Even
Sailor Polaris had been a classmate of Minako.
Starhunter, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn hadn't been classmates, but all
had come into the Senshi's lives outside of costume at about the same
time they had met in costume.
So Makoto kept a close eye on Laura. So far, the only new ally was
Macavity. Makoto had seen a lot, including alien Senshi who changed sex
when they transformed. But the idea of Laura turning into Macavity just
stretched credibility. So that left her as one of the bad guys,
assuming Makoto's theory held.
Makoto watched as Laura was seated right beside Usagi. Predictably
enough, Usagi very quickly started up a conversation with her. That was
Usagi's strongest point. Building and maintaining friendships. Makoto
hoped Usagi wasn't making a big mistake this time. For now she would
keep her suspicions to herself. She had nothing beyond the timing of
Laura's arrival to base them on. And the last thing Makoto wanted was
another lecture from Ami on the impossibility of Makoto's theory. What
grated on Makoto about Ami's position on her theory was that Ami had
what Makoto considered a very similar theory about Tokyo itself, and
about why enemies always seemed to attack Tokyo first, right where the
Senshi lived to oppose them. How could Ami believe in her so called
Synchronous Zone around Tokyo, and at the same time so easily dismiss
Makoto's theory about allies and enemies at school?
Makoto sighed. Watch yourself, Laura Bergstrom. I'm keeping a close
eye on you, girl.
Cue Moonlight Densetsu as the opening music.
Gomen ne sunao ja nakute
(Shot of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen, back to back, in defensive
poses.)
Yume no naka nara ieru
(Shot of Sailor Mercury and Starhunter in similar poses.)
Shikou kairo wa shotto sunzen
(Shot of Mars and Venus is similar poses.)
Ima sugu aitai yo
(Shot of Jupiter and Laura in similar poses.
Macavity tumbles past Makoto and Laura, who both sweatdrop.)
Nakitaku naru you na Moonlight
Denwa mo dekinai Midnight
(Shot of Luna and Artemis, both sitting on their haunches, slowly
orbiting each other.)
Datte junjou dou shiyou
Hatto wa mangekyou"
(Macavity suddenly appears between them, douses both from a seltzer
bottle, then vanishes, leaving two wet and obviously pissed off
kitties.)
Tsuki no Hikari ni michibikare
(Shot of The Chairman. He is standing against a dark background, and
has his hand stretched out towards the camera, a lot like Jadeite did
with his energy ball in the first few TV episodes. Instead of an energy
ball, The Chairman is holding a globe, which he then closes his hand
around, crushing the globe. Throughout, his face is emotionless.)
Nandomo meguri-au
(Shot of Argent sitting on a tree branch, waving his index finger at the
camera in a "No, no, no." motion.)
(Brief instrumental (organ?) riff)
(Shot of Laura at her equipment, franticly punching buttons and turning
dials)
(Macavity appears behind her, sneaking up on her. She casually grabs a
pillow from somewhere and tosses it behind her, tagging Macavity before
he can get close to her.)
Seiza no mataki kazoe
(Close-up of Eternal Sailor Moon, a sad look on her face)
Uranau koi no yukue
(The view pulls back. Eternal Sailor Moon is sitting, looking out at a
view we cannot see. She's not alone. Tuxedo Mask is right behind her,
hands on her shoulder, comforting her.)
Onaji kuni ni umareta no
Mirakuru Romansu
(Continue to pull out. The rest of the cast is now seen. Macavity is
at Sailor Moon's feet, while the Inner Senshi and Laura are in a small
semi circle behind her.)
Shinjite iro no
Mirakuru Romansu
(Finally show that the whole gang is looking out over a pristine,
untouched landscape. A couple of fairies (butterfly girls) fly by as
the opening fades out...)
Sailor Moon Dark War Episode 2: Friend or Foe?
A tale of Sailor Moon Expanded
Written by Andy Combs
Usagi munched happily on her lunch. Things didn't get much better than
this. Their new enemy was the easiest yet. She had managed to avoid
detention for the last week, and she had a new friend to share her joy
with.
Laura was nice. She was supposed to be almost as smart as Ami, the
teacher had proudly announced. Laura had been totally embarrassed by
the announcement, another plus in her favor.
Usagi had begun probing her interests almost as soon as lunch had
started. Laura knew very little of anime and manga, but had an
encouraging passion for American comics. And even better, she had a
passion for video games that appeared to be second only to Minako.
Usagi had commented on how well Laura spoke Japanese for a foreigner.
Laura had looked a little startled at the question, but had quickly
answered that she had learned it on her own in order to play the
imported Japanese video games rather than waiting for the North American
translated releases.
Usagi had noticed a strange look cross Makoto's face at that comment.
Usagi mentally shrugged. If Mako-chan had something on her mind, she
would share it...
Makoto said "That's interesting. Then why did you come over here?"
Usagi "ahhh"ed, and looked to Laura for her answer.
Laura smiled, and responded. "I'm on an exchange program. When they
came by my school looking for applicants, I decided I should get a bit
wider look at the world, and signed up. Before I knew it, I had been
accepted, and here I am." Makoto still had the strange look on her
face, but Usagi decided to ignore it for now.
"So, you wanna learn about Japanese culture, but don't know much about
anime or manga?" Usagi mused. "Something must be done about this." she
stated, matter-of-factly.
Laura looked puzzled.
Usagi continued. "I think it's time for a marathon anime session. How
about tonight?"
"Usagi!" said Ami. "We have a study session tonight. You're barely
passing as it is. You can't afford to miss a study session."
"Slave driver!" Usagi said, her voice showing she wasn't really serious.
"Usagi, if it wasn't for my 'slave driving', as you call it, you
wouldn't be passing at all."
"I know, Ami-chan. I'm just joking. I really do appreciate all the
help you give me." Ami looked placated.
Usagi turned back to Laura. "How about sometime this weekend, then?"
"I would be honored, Tsukino-san." Laura responded.
Usagi giggled. "You don't have to be *that* formal. Just call me
Usagi-chan, like the rest of my friends."
"Gladly, Tsuki... Usagi-chan." Usagi grinned.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Makoto frowned to herself. Laura's explanation for being here was
perfectly plausible. Heck, Tom had been here as an exchange student.
But then again Ail and Ann had used exactly the same story, so it really
showed nothing.
Laura's explanation of her Japanese skills, on the other hand, stank.
Learning Japanese to play video games? Maybe, but Laura spoke it *way*
too well for that. She spoke perfect Japanese, without a trace of an
accent. And Makoto was almost willing to bet she could read and write
it just as well. She shook her head, quietly watching Laura across the
classroom. No, you almost had to be a native to speak it that well.
Or have some magical help...
On the other hand, it proved nothing. It was quite possible Makoto was
overanalyzing things, seeing clues where none existed. For now, she
would just have to keep a close eye on their new friend.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laura is seen working at something. Slowly we can see that it's a large
machine of some sort. It has a lot of strange dials and switches.
Right in the center of the arcane looking contraption is a small modern
computer, complete with monitor and keyboard. The computer is obviously
linked in with the rest of the contraption.
Laura carefully adjusted one of the dials, her eyes glued to the monitor.
A shadow is seen separating from the others behind her. The shadow slowly
moves towards her, getting closer....
closer....
closer....
"Good evening, Master." Laura said without taking her eyes from the
monitor.
The shadow coalesced into the shape of Macavity. "One of these days you
are going to have to tell me how you do that." he muttered under his
breath.
"Do what, Master?" She finished adjusting the dial and turned to face
the leprechaun.
Macavity rolled his eyes. "Never mind. How was your day? Did you meet
them?"
Laura nodded. "Three of the five are in the same class as me. Tsukino
Usagi, Mizuno Ami, and Kino Makoto. Aino Minako is in a different class
at the same school. I met her at lunch. Hino Rei goes to a different
school, so I didn't meet her, though I expect I will get to meet her on
Saturday. Usagi has invited me over to watch 'anime', and I got the
impression that the whole group will be there."
Macavity nodded. "Any individual impressions of them?"
"From one day of school? Not many. Usagi is certainly outgoing. From
comments by Ami, though, she has a tough time at school. Ami is
apparently the top pupil at the school, and is expected to easily be
valedictorian when they graduate next year. It's hard to tell from just
a single day's impressions, but I think she is *very* smart. Maybe even
smarter than me. It would be interesting to find out."
"Don't" said Macavity. Laura gave him a questioning look. "She's
Senshi Mercury, Laura. Don't become her intellectual rival. You'll
lose."
Laura looked dubious, but didn't argue. She continued. "I couldn't get
a handle at all on Kino Makoto. She seemed quite distant. And Aino
Minako I only saw briefly at lunch, so I can't say much about her
either."
She continued. "One nice breakthrough, though. In the middle of lunch
Minako got a call on her watch. She tried to pass it off as an alarm,
but since you had already figured out that they use those watches to
communicate... Anyway, I had set up my scanner before lunch started, so
I got a full scan of her conversation. While the conversation itself
wasn't important, it was just Artemis reminding her of something, I did
get the frequency they use to communicate. With a few adjustments,
you'll be able to talk to them as easily as you talk to me." Macavity
nodded in agreement.
Macavity turned his attention to the machine. "How's that thing holding
up?"
"Pretty well. It's doing its job, at least." Macavity nodded.
Macavity lightly hopped up onto a worktable beside her. "I'm sorry for
dragging you into this. If I had even the slightest ability with this
stuff..." he inclined his head towards the machine "...I would have
never brought you along."
"I'm fine, Master. Really. I may have been playing inventor recently,
but I much prefer to be a scientist. And here and now is the best
chance yet to test out my theories."
Macavity shook his head. "This isn't a game, Laura. The enemy is
deadly serious in their intentions... what's so funny." Laura was
giggling.
"I'm sorry, Master, but you're the last one to lecture like that.
'This isn't a game' indeed. Spoken by the gamemaster himself."
Macavity sighed, then looked skyward. "What have I done to deserve
such disrespect?"
"Want me to start a list, Master?" Macavity gave her a startled look,
then they both broke out in giggles.
Finally Macavity spoke again. "Just be careful, please?"
Laura nodded. "I promise."
Macavity nodded, and headed out across the apartment. Laura returned to
her machine and tapped a couple of keys on the keypad before moving to
another one of the dials. She started to adjust this one but was
interrupted by a soft chime from the central computer. In a couple of
moments she was seated at the computer, busily typing on the keyboard.
Macavity appeared, seated on her shoulder.
"We have another gate. About the same size as last time. Probably
controlled by the same person." Laura said.
"Where?"
Laura rose and crossed the room, picking up a small triangular red flag
as she went. On one side of the apartment was a large map of Tokyo,
taking up a wall. She quickly pushed the flag in at one point. "Here.
Down in the subways, if the readings are correct."
"Very well. Sounds like a good time to test out the Senshi's
communication frequency. You head downstairs while I contact them.
I'll meet you there in a few moments." Laura nodded and grabbed her
purse as she headed out the door.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Argent leaned casually against the wall. He wasn't trying to be
inconspicuous, this just happened to be a good place to observe from.
The goblins were actually using some tactics this time. It helped that
all of them were from one tribe, and that he had brought their chieftain
through first. The goblin chief was highly intelligent. For a goblin,
that is. Argent still ranked him even below the humans on an overall
scale. But he was effective in controlling the rest of the goblins, and
had them busy securing the subway station where they found themselves.
There had been only a few humans around when the gate first opened, and
those had all fled before the goblins could catch them.
The goblin chief had been informed of what had happened to the last
group to fight the local defenders, and he was determined to not have
his tribe wiped out the same way. Argent knew better. Even organized
the goblins were no match for the Sailor Senshi.
On the other hand, he had brought a little something else with him to
liven things up. Several dark black shapes lay curled up at random
spots around the station. The goblins gave these shapes wide berth.
The goblins busied themselves erecting barricades across the stairways
that led up to the surface. Properly manned, these might even give the
Senshi something to worry over as they advanced down the stairs.
A low rumbling filled the station, and then a light could be seen coming
down one of the tunnels. One of the human's transport devices. Several
goblins quickly grabbed up their weapons and hopped down into the
device's trail to await it. The chieftain bellowed at the rest,
preventing them from joining the first few. Which proved to have been
for the best, because the giant device was totally unfazed by the
goblins that it casually splattered as it pulled into the station.
Argent rolled his eyes once more.
The human in the front of the device saw the goblins on his viewshield,
and a large number more advancing angrily, weapons held menacingly. He
did what Argent agreed was probably the wisest thing he could have done,
and accelerated the mammoth device away. A couple of goblins tried to
jump on the now rapidly moving device, with predictably messy results.
"Hey, fangface! Disrupting the subway system that allows people to
move about their lives is unforgivable!"
The Sailor Senshi had arrived. Argent quickly noted that the
distraction of the human vehicle had drawn all the goblins away from
their fortifications. The Sailor Senshi were already down the stairs,
on the station itself. It was just the five Senshi this time. Tuxedo
Mask was nowhere to be seen.
"I am the warrior of love and justice, Sailor Moon! In the name of the
moon, I will punish you!"
The goblins roared at this new threat, and charged. Argent let them get
to the Senshi and engage them before he sent a mental command to the
black forms around the station.
"Go."
He watched as the forms uncurled from where they lay and rose to their
feet. Huge black dogs, they quietly watched the melee swirling around
the Senshi, watching for the best moment to strike.
It was only because of The Chairman's orders to provide Argent with
better forces that the Lord of the Hunt had been persuaded to spare him
these few beasts. And even then the Lord had only surrendered the least
of his Hounds. A half dozen in all. The old, the injured. Animals
that would never run with the Hunt again. But they would be given one
last chance at glory. Argent personally didn't think they had much of a
chance. If the Senshi were half as good as they were supposed to be,
they would beat the Hounds without too much trouble. But he wasn't
worried. It wasn't his mission to defeat the Senshi, just to engage
them and find out all he could about them. And at a minimum these
Hounds should force the Senshi to work a bit harder for their victory.
For even the least of the Hounds was far faster than the goblins, and
far more intelligent as well.
The fight around the Senshi was thinning, as the goblins began to run
out. Argent hadn't left the gate open this time. Simply gateing in
more goblins was a waste of his energy reserves.
He could now see the Wee One again, using the same tactics to cause the
goblins to take themselves out of the fight. Well, that establishes one
thing. The presence of the Wee One the last time had been no fluke. He
was actively helping the Senshi. Argent hadn't believed it to be a
fluke, but the possibility had to be eliminated.
Suddenly the flavor of the battle changed, as one of the Hounds let out
a howl. Argent was ready for it, having heard the Hounds hunting cries
many times back home. The Senshi on the other hand were totally
unprepared.
The howl of the Hounds had a magical quality about it. It was their
warcry, but almost as much it was intended to paralyze their prey with
fear. It worked. The Senshi froze at the sound, looking around in
apprehension. Unfortunately it worked a little too well, as the goblins
froze as well. Argent quietly cursed the goblins.
Fortunately the remaining Hounds were not frozen, and they leapt to
attack.
The Wee One chose this moment to reappear, floating in mid air above the
Senshi. "Watch out!!!" he yelled.
This was enough to distract the Senshi from the soul numbing howl and
allow them to notice the beasts almost upon them. The Senshi scattered.
Argent pondered attacking the floating Wee One. He was an easy target,
floating above the fray. But before he could reach a decision, one of
the Senshi (Sailor Mercury?) did something.
"Shabon Spray!"
Suddenly the station filled with a thick fog. Obviously magical, if one
of the Senshi were deploying it. He muttered a counterspell, which had
no effect. There was a *lot* of power behind the fog.
Argent frowned. He was totally cut off. He could hear the fight
continuing within the fog, once more turned in favor of the Senshi. He
could hear the Hounds begin to go down. The howl cut off suddenly as
the Hound behind it was destroyed. Enough. He was himself at risk if
he remained in this environment that so obviously favored the Senshi. A
moment's concentration, and he was elsewhere.
It had been a sobering defeat. He had actually thought momentarily that
the Hounds might reach the Senshi and cause some harm, if not actually
kill one or more. But the Wee One, and then that fog...
On the other hand the mission could be considered a complete success.
At the cost of relatively worthless troups he had gained important
information on their opponents. Had it remained unknown, that fog could
have easily spelled ruin for more critical missions later on. It still
could. His counterspell had been worthless. Worse, the Senshi had
apparently been totally unhampered by the fog. A spell that effected
one's enemies, but not one's allies. Fiendish. Figuring out how to
deal with that fog would be difficult. Fortunately it wasn't *his*
problem.
Argent sat down at a desk and pulled out some paper to begin his report
to the Chairman, but his mind was already running over what to do next.
The secret was to vary the modes of his attacks, and the composition of
his troops. That way the Senshi would have to vary how they dealt with
his threats as well. Information about how they chose to deal with
different threats could be as valuable as more pure information on their
capabilities.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laura hummed to herself as she hooked up her portable scanner to the
main unit, and tapped a couple of keys to begin offloading its
accumulated data. She hadn't gotten much. Macavity hadn't let her get
that close to the fighting. While the portable scanner could pick up a
lot more detail than the Base Station, it was severely limited in range,
because of the size of it's power unit.
The scanner technology was cutting edge, a blend of magic and science.
The magical capabilities required magical energy, and there was not a
lot of that on Earth. The scanner had to absorb what it could from the
surrounding environment to function. The portable scanner, about the
size of a laptop computer, could gather very little energy. It had a
top range of around a hundred meters. On the other hand, within that
range, it could gather large amounts of data. The closer the object
being scanned, the more data it could get.
The Base Station had a much larger system for gathering energy. Most of
the strange-looking equipment around the central computer was actually
there to gather the magical energy. The Base Station easily covered all
of Tokyo from their fairly central apartment. On the other hand, at
anything over a block or so, the station could discern little beyond
location and size of gates.
The portable scanner could pick up a lot more, but only if she could get
close enough with it. And Macavity had ordered her to stay well away
from the fight. At the place she had waited for him, she had barely
picked up anything about either the enemies or the Senshi.
She finished downloading what little she had gotten and set the bigger
computer to processing the data. She sighed. How in the world was she
supposed to get the information she needed if she wasn't allowed to go
where she needed to go to get it?
Disobeying Macavity was out of the question. If she started doing that,
he was liable to send her home. Which she had no intention of
allowing. This was where she could continue her research, not there.
She had exhausted all avenues of research available to her back home.
So she just had to figure out some other way of getting the data she
needed.
End Sailor Moon Dark War Chapter 2.
Author Notes:
Visual reference for Laura:
Short, about Usagi's height. Mid-length light brown hair worn loose.
Large glasses normally worn, though she has contacts available. She
prefers the glasses. Closest visual reference: Fu from Magic Knight
Rayearth.
Tom, aka Starhunter, may be seen in the SME story Hunter's Moon.
Titanite, aka Sailor Polaris, may been seen in various Dark Kingdom
Renegades stories.
--
Alexander (Andy the Android) Combs android@texas.net
Video Librarian, The Anime Club at the University of Texas
RAAC Assistant Moderator
Current Projects:
Sailor Moon Expanded: Fanfiction shared universe. For details see:
http://www.texas.net/~android/sme_main.html